Brooder.



F. L. WESTCOTT.

BROODER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19,1912.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR /l. flaw;

THE NORRIS PETERS Cn..Plm1o LITHU WASHINGTON. D. c

F. L. WESTCOTT.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

2 SHEETSr-SHEET 2.

BROODER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19. 19:3.

INVENTOR IIE NORRIS P5111! .u., PHOTO IIIHQ. WASHINGTON. n, C.

FREDERICK L. WESTCOIT, OF ORLANDO, NEBRASKA.

BROODER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

Application filed April 19, 1913. Serial No. 762,435.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. Wns'r- (:o'r'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Orlando, in the county of Garden and State of Nebraska, have invented new and useful Improvements in Brooders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of brooders and more particularly to that type known as a fireless brooder.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a fireless brooder wherein hot water is employed for heating purposes rather than the oil or gasolene lamp now oommonly used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brooder of this character wherein the required temperature is at all times insured, as the hot water is stored within a suitable tank in such a novel and peculiar manner as to retain the heat desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a suitable tray or box so arranged relative to the hot water tank as to warm the interior of the box, the same, should occasion demand adapted to be removed from the tank and placed elsewhere as desired.

With the above and various other objects in view the invention consists essentially in the provision of a suitable frame within which is disposed a hot water tank or receptacle incased in such a manner as to retain the original heat contained therein for an indefinite period of time, and further the provision of a box or tray carried by the frame and in contact with the tank, whereby heat is imparted to the interior thereof for the purpose of warming the chickens or other fowls contained therein.

Certain other features of construction together with the combination and arrangement of the several parts as will be hereinafter fully described and specifically pointed out in the appended claims must be reasonably considered in determining the advantages and novel features of this invention.

In describing my invention in detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a brooder constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is a 1ongitudinal sectional view. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 l of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the tray, and Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the tray cover.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein as illustrated the preferred form of my invention the numeral 1 designates the main frame or bodv portion of the brooder upon one side of which and near the top thereof is secured or formed integral therewith a suitable feeding compartment 2, both being supported above the ground by means of suitable legs or supports 3.

A cover 1 is hingedly connected as at 5 to the main frame 1 the same being latched or held in closed position by means of any suitable mechanism such as is shown at 6, while the top of the feeding compartment 2 is covered with any suitable wire mesh 7 A hot water tank 8 is disposed within the body portion 1 the same being supported or held in proper place through the medium of its packing 9, the latter inclosing' or encasing the tank upon the sides thereof. An

inlet pipe 10 is connected to the tank near the topthereof, the upper end of which is provided with a funnel-shaped mouth 11, while the outlet pipe 12 is likewise connected to the tank, only at the bottom thereof, the upper end of this pipe having a faucet 13 by means of which the water may be drawn off when desired.

A tray or housing 14 within which the chickens or other fowls are normally inclosed is adapted to rest upon the top face of the tank, so that the heat from the latter will rise upon all sides thereof as well as the bottom, and in this way keep the interior of the housing sufficiently warm and comfortable. Openings 15 being provided within the frame walls 1 at a point approximately in alinement with the floor of the tray and the tray having no inner wall as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing, an unobstructed passage is formed be tween the interior thereof and the feeding compartment 2 whereby the chickens contained within the brooder may pass back and forth from the feeding compartment to the tray as desired.

Supports 16 are provided within the tray and extend to a point near the top thereof upon which normally rests an inner lid or cover, preferably composed of a substantially square frame 17 across the top of which is supported a piece of soft material 18. A plurality of strips 19 are sewed or otherwise secured to the material cover 18 so as to depend nearly to the floor of the tray, the purpose of which is to retain the heat therein as well as form an effective substitute for a mother hen, the soft downy material having substantially the same quality of warmth. For the purpose of permitting the removal of the tray 14, as well as the inner cover 17 I'have provided a side door 20 hingedly connected as at 21 upon the side of the frame, an opening of which will permit the entire tray to be slid out of the frame and placed elsewhere as desired;

By entirely inclosing the tank except at the top, with any suitable nonconductive packing such as saw dust or the like, and hot water having been previously poured into the tank through the medium of the inlet pipe 10 it will be recognized that the high temperature of water is retained indefinitely, the principle being substantially the same as that employed in an ordinary firel'ess cooker. The tray or housing being arranged as it is upon the top of the tank sufficient heat is imparted to the interior thereof to answer the purpose required; while the level of the tray 4: being approximately upon the same plane as the feeding compartment floor passage from one to the other is rendered possible.

From the above taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it will be seen that a brooder constructed in accordance with my invention can be quickly and easily cleaned by simply raising the cover or'sliding the tray out of the frame; that the chickens are free to run out into the feeding compartment from the tray and return at will the depending strips within the latter serving as asubstitute for the mother hen; and that by entirely removing the tray from the frame and placing the same upon the ground the chickens may run out and return as desired.

It is thought from the foregoing that the advantages and novel features of my device will be fully appreciated.

I desire it to be understood that I may make slight changes in the construction and in the arrangement and combination of the several parts, provided such changes fall within the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A brooder including a hover comprising a slidable tray, an independently removable cover arranged within the tray, said cover being disposed in a plane below the top of the tray to be removed therewith, support means for the cover rigid with the tray, heat retaining elements secured to the cover and depending into the tray, and a door affixed to the brooder, said door act ing as a retaining means for maintaining the tray against removal, as and for the purpose set forth.

2; A brooder including a hover comprising a removable tray, one of the four sides of the tray being omitted, uprights positioned upon the interior of the tray at the respective corners thereof, the said uprights adapted to extend to a point slightly in spaced relation to the top of the said tray, an imperforate cover for and removable with the said tray, the said cover adapted to rest upon the said uprights and to lie in a plane below the top of the tray, and a plurality of fabric strips secured to the under face of the cover and depending Within the tray, the longitudinal edges of the said strips being slit to provide a multiplicity of depending heat retaining elements.

FRED. L. VESTCOTT.

Witnesses:

HARRY C. GOLDEN, FRANK GOLDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

